The present invention relates to article loading machinery, and more particularly, to machinery for forming columns of articles of a predetermined length and depositing the columns of articles into conveyor buckets.
In one type of article stacking and loading apparatus used in the past, articles such as cookies are stacked onto inclined rails, on edge, to form a column. As each column is being formed, it slides down the rails under gravity toward a recess in a rotatable turret. When the column is complete, a pair of plate members mounted on a conveyor engage each end of the column and move it rapidly into the turret recess. After each column is positioned in the turret, the turret rotates to drop a column of articles into a bucket of a bucket conveyor and to present an empty recess to the stacking apparatus. Any significant variation in the column length due to a change in the thickness of the articles causes a malfunction of the apparatus. When such apparatus is used in connection with sandwich cookies, the thickness of the cookies changes if the icing depositor goes out of adjustment and too much or too little icing is deposited. When the column of cookies is too long, it will not fit between the plate members that move it into the turret. This results in the breaking of a least the last cookies in the column as the plate member collides with that cookie rather than moving in behind it. When the column is significantly shorter than the distance between the plates, the last cookie or two will not remain upright as the column moves into the turret recess and may, therefore, protrude from the turret and be smashed when the turret rotates.
When it is desired to use the apparatus to form columns of different length, because a different number of articles are placed in each column, or articles of a different thickness are to be used, or both, it is necessary to make major changes in the apparatus. The turrets must be changed for ones having the new column length, and the chain conveyor must be changed for one of a different length having plates uniformly spaced at the new column length.
The necessary parts changes require a considerable number of man hours, so that, the line being changed over is commonly out of service for one full shift. After production is resumed, much product is destroyed by malfunctioning of the machine while adjustments are made to synchronize the various mechanisms of the apparatus. Due to these factors, the changeover of such prior art machines from one column length to another entailed a considerable cost to the manufacturer.